Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Mr. Reston has produced an entertaining book about the Third
Crusade. Indeed, I stopped all other activities in my busy schedule to
finish the book.
Until I read this book, I had encountered very little about the
Crusades. Last year I read Karen Armstrong's "Islam," in which a few
paragraphs address the subject. So, to this point, most of my knowledge
comes from "Warriors of God."
There were a few things that struck me as odd about the book. First, no
footnotes. The book is full of odd and marvelous stories, and I wanted
to look up their sources. However, without the footnotes I could not do
that. Reston does provide a list of primary and secondary sources, but
it's unfortunate that he didn't give us more detail in footnotes.
Second, I was struck by his sympathies with the Muslims and relative
disdain for the Christians. I have no idea if his judgments are accurate
or not, but I did find it odd that his description of Saladin was so
deferential. This may be my westerner's view of things getting in the
way, but it's what I experienced when reading the book.
Finally, I couldn't tell what was true and what was not. Periodically
Reston would judiciously point out that a certain scribe might be
inflating figures or portraying his master in too favorable a light. But
then Reston doesn't use the same critical thinking, for example, about
the blood flowing in the streets of Jerusalem during the First
Crusade. It seemed to me that it would have helped if Reston had
supported that bit of lore with a not pointing out how it could be true
-- by some calculations in geometry -- that the Crusaders were literally
wading in the blood of their victims.
Despite my puzzlement, I heartily recommend Mr. Reston's book. It brings
the Third Crusade to life, the way a good novel would, but it still
retains authority as a historical account of the events of that time.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade
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